Air separator



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E y/mm, n %M' T. J. STURTEVANT AIR SEPARAI'OR Filed Aug. 26. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 "Oct. 16 ,-1923. Y

T. J. STURTEVANT AIR SEPARATOR Filed Aug. 26, 1921 s Sheets-Sheet 3 I12 Van 5 02-,

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THOMAS .1. STURTEVANT/OF wniriasrn mmnssaonusnrrs, AssIcnoR 'ro STURTE- VANT MILLcoMPANY, or Bosron, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSA- CHUSETTS.

'- AIR sEraRA'roR.

Application filed August 26, 1921. Serial No. 495,706. I

To all whom z'tmay Eon-corn V Be'it known that I. THOMAS J. STURTE- VANT, a citizen of the United States ;r esiding at-VVellesley, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts,-haveinvented an Improvement in A.ir ;Separato'rs, of

which the following description, in connection, with the accompanyingdrawings, a

specification, likefcharacters on the draw-- 10 ings representing like parts. f

The inventibn to be. hereinafter described relates to airlffseparators forgrad-in materials. A H p A separator of this type-usually ing chamber communicating through upper and lower openings, a fan for causing an ,air'

currentto circulate through said chambers and'openlngs so that the current rises in the separating chamber and descends in the collecting chamber. The materials to be graded are introduced into the path ofthe risin air current in" the se aratin eh-amber. The smaller particles or fines are car- F riedl pward with the rising air current over into the collecting chamber and are delivered through an outlet, while the heavier particles or tailings gravitate downward in the rising current; in the separating chamber and are delivered through another out let.

vent the fines which flow down through the collecting chamber from returning with the.

air current into'the separating chamber. One way of preventing this is to impart a whirling motion to the air descending in the collecting chamber so that the fines therein will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal 40 force away from the opening leading into the separating chamber.

;It has been proposed heretofore to provide adjustable vanes at the lower opening" f deflect inwardly the air 15 prises a separating chamber an'da collect- A problem in these separators is to pre reduces the grading eificiency of the separater. It is also found that any disturb-' ance of the whirling motion of the air in the collecting chamber reduces-the grading efficiency of the separator.

rent in the separator without disturbing the Another important feature of the inven-.

tion consists in means that is adjustable to th egseparating chamber.

e ii nother important feature .of' the invenwtio'n consists in novel valve means for regu' lating the passage of air from'one chamberto the other.

And still another feature of the invention consists of floating means for controlling the materials delivered to the distributor to be thrown out uniformly in all directions.

The abovehand other features of the in- .vention and novel combination of parts will current rising inbe herein described in connection with the accompanying drawings which Show one good, practical form of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1' 's a vertical sectional view through an air separator embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vanes in the closed position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but shows thea-djustable vanes in the open position;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of part of the separator having the adjustablevanes connected thereto;

Fig. 5 is a still further enlarged view of parts shown in Fig. 4; u i

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional vlew of the feed tube and associated parts; and

on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the adjustable Fig. 7 is a side view of parts shown in I Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings: The separator shown therein comprises an outer casing 10 consisting of an upper cylindrical portion 11 having a conical, downwardly-extending portion 12 secured thereto, and the outer casing is supported by suitable brackets or feet 13.

Within the outer 9f1l g 10 is mounted the inner casing 14, in the present instance consisting of an intermediate cylindrical portion with a downwardly-converging portion 16 and an upwardly-converging portion 17. Below the inner casing 14 is provided a downwardly-extending conical casing 18,

supported within the conical casing 12 and in spaced relation thereto by the brackets 19.- The inner casing 14 is'supported by the casing 18 and in spaced relation thereto by the upstanding vanes 20.

In the type of separator to which thepres ent invention relates, means is provided for' producing an air current rising in the inner or separating chamber and descending 1n the "outer or collecting chamber, and the materials to be separated are introduced into thev .path of the rising air current so that the coarse particles are carried downwardly by gravity within the inner casing while the finer particles, or fines, arec'arried upward by the rising air current into the outer or collecting chamber. Various constructions might be provided for producing the desired circulating air currents, and for introducing materials into the rising air current,.and

satisfactory means to this end will now-be described. r

. Withinthe inner casing is mounted an up right shaft 23, the lower end of which is journaled in a bearing 24 supported from the casing 18 by the brackets 25 and the sleeve 26, and theupper end of the shaft is journaled' in a bearing 27 supported above the cover plate.28 of the outer casing 10.

- The shaft 23 has the distributor 29 secured above the plate 31 is provideda-hood 32 thereto to be rotated by the shaft. In the present instance, the distributor has a casting 30 rigidly secured to the shaft 23 and the casting carries a disk or plate 31, and

supported in spaced relation to the casting 30 by the posts 33. Ilxtending upwardly from the posts 33 is a sleeve shaft 34 which supports and drives-the fan 35. The fan is positioned adjacent the upper end of. the

inner casin 14 and consists of vanes 36 se cured to t e sleeve shaft by spokes 37.

About the shaft 23 is provided a feed hopper 38 supported by the cover 28, and to the hopper is Secured a feed tube 39that deliversfthe materials upon a plate 40 of the hold enough of the materials to rotating distributor. From this plate the 'materials are thrown outwardly by item 'trifugal force into the path of the rising.

air current. As the materials are thrown outwardly over the surface of the'plate' 31 they wear the plate away It is therefore desirable to protect the plate by providing the edge thereof with an upstanding rim 41 which forms a pocket as at 42,-adapte dto protect the plate from wear. i

As above pointed out, it is found that nu ,der certain separating conditions, adjust-' ment' of thevanes adjacent the lower end of the separator casing to control the air current. produces local currents that disturb the operating conditions. In the present in- .Yention the production of such currents is avoided by constructing the vanes 20 so that they serve to promote a whirling niovement of: the air in the lower portion of the outer chamber but do not serve to regulate the passage of air from the outer to the inner casing. To this end the vanes 20 are c0n-- structed sothat they may be adjusted individually to the angle which is found to be 20 shown in Fig. 3 causes the air to pass be tween these vanes in approximately a tan gential direction from the outer to the inner chamber, so that the air that is drawn inwardly between the angularly disposed vanes 20 exerts a whirling pu'll upon theair in I the outer chamber.

The passage of air from the inner tothe outer casing is controlled, in the present case, by valve means positioned adjacent the upper end of the inner casing 14. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the upper end of the inner casing 14 is provided with an outwardly-extending annular plate or flange 43.. This flange lies in close proximity to the fan blades 36 and assists the fan in directing the whirling currentoutwardly toward the walls of the outer casing 10. Upon this flange is mounted. the current regulating valve, consisting of vanes .best suited for the general working condi- 35, and the angular disposition of the vanes 44 which are adjustable inwardly toward the sleeve shaft 34 to vary the size of the opening'at the upper end of the inner casing. The vanes 44' consist of flat, horizontally-extending plates or blades arranged .in overlapping relation and arepivotally secured to .-the "flange 43 by pivot pins 45 (see Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5). The outer ends of the vanes 44 are pi-votally' secured at 46 to an adjustable ring 47 while the inner ends of the vanes overlap. The construction is such that when the ring 47 is rotated in one direction. the inner ends of the vanes 44 will be swung inwardlytoward the sleeve shaft 34 as shown in Fig. 2, to reduce the size of the opening at the upper end of the inner casinggand when the ring 47 is adjusted in the opposite direction, the vanes will beswung'outwardly away from the sleeve shaft 34, as shown in Fig. 3. The vanes are provided with elongated slots 48 that permit longitudinal movement of the vanes relative to the pins 45, and the adjusting ring 47 Ian to this end the casing "converging walls 17;

end of the inner casing serves a double funcpreferably has a I .ddwnwardly-extending flange 49.

Separation of tli'i-"Ttailings from the fines within the inner casi is promoted by constructing the inner easing so that the rising air current is deflectedjinwardly as it approaches the upper end'of the casing, and

The adjustable valve means at the'upper tion, for,in addition t controlling, the pas sage of air from the separating casing it serves also to vary the extent to which the air-current may be deflected inwardly to.

promote the s'eparatin operation. This will be apparentfrom ig. 1, in which the materials rising in the air current'are indi cated by as deflected inwardly by the vanes 44.

In order that the ring 47 may be readily adjusted t change the adjustment of the vanes 44, a door 51 is provided in awall of the outercasing through which a tool or bar 52 maybe inserted into a socket 53 secured to thelring 47, andthen operated to adjust the ring.

The materials to be separated may be,

readilydelivered t the hopper 38 at any predeterminednrate of speed bymeans, not shown and in this way'the rate at which materials are delivered to the interior of the separator maybe controlled. But in most cases the material will slide down one side of the hopper 38 and fall upon the plate 40 without 'being"-evenly distributed} around the plate and as a result the materials will that are rotated by the plate 40, This will cause the'materials to be spread out evenly over the piate 40 and to be thrown outwardly uniformly in all directions by the distributor. Since the. sleeve 54 rests upon and is supported by the materials upon the plate 40 it will serve to spread the materials out evenly over the plate irrespective of the speed at which, the materials may be delivered thereto, and if a lump or large particle falls upon the plate 40 it will work under the flange 54 and escape therefrom,

The sleeve 54 preferably is counterbalanced by a weighted lever 56 secured to a rocking shaft 57, and this shaft is connected to the sleeve by rods 58' having their lower ends secured to the sleeve and their upper ends 14 has the upwardlyconnected to the outer ends of levers 59 secured to the shaft 57. The arrangement is such thatgby adjusting the weight 60 along thelever 5 6'the sleeve will be made to rest aslightl'y upon the materials as desired 1 The upright shaft 23 may be driven from a pulley 61 by a shaft 62, and gears 63 and 64, and these gears are preferably enclosed in "a casing 65. Within the lower portion ofthe inner casing 14 acone-shaped deflector 66 is preferably provided todeflect the air 'current outwardly as it rises, and this deflector may be supportedby the sleeve 26.

Fromthe foregoing description when readin connection with the drawings, it

will be seen that the valve at theupper end,

of the separating casing may-be readily adjusted to .vary the strength of the air cur-.

rent, and-'that adjustment of thisvalve will not produce disturbing local or eddy cur rents within the outer casing. It will be undI'StOOdi-hat the invention is not limited t the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviationsmay be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is i 1, An air separator comprising, :in combination, outeriand inner casings having openings between them, an upright shaft projecting into the inner casing and ha .ing'driving means atits upper end, a ro tary distributor mounted on said shaft, a,

fixed feed tube surrounding said shaft and adapted to deliver materials to the distributor, a sleeve shaft mounted on the rotary distributor, a .fan supported and rotated by said sleeve shaft for inducing an air current through said casings, valve means adjacentthe fan for regulating the flow of air from one casing to the other,and whirl-producing means at the opening through which the air enters the inner casing. I

2. An air separator comprising, in combination, outer and inner casings having openings between them, an upright shaft within .the inner casing and having driving means at 1ts upper end, a rotary distributor within said inner casing and driven by said shaft, a fixed feed tubesurroundlng said shaft and extending into the inner casing for delivering materials to the distributor. a sleeve, shaft extending upwardly around the feed tube a substantial distance and rotated by the upright shaftand a fan secured to the upper end of the sleeve shaft and 'rotatedthereby to produce air currents passing up in the inner casing and down in the outer a 3. An air separator comprislng, 1n combination, outer and inner casings having openings between them, an upright shaft within the inner casing and having driving means at itsupper end, a rotary distributor within said inner casing and driven by said shaft,

I a fixed feed tube surrounding said shaft and extending into the inner caslng for delivering'n'iaterials to the distributor, asleeve shaft extending upwardly around the feed tube a substantial distance and rotated by the upright shaft, a fan secured to the upper end of the sleeve shaft and rotated thereby to produce air currents passing up in the inner casing and down in the outer casing, and valve means surrounding the sleeve shaft adjacent the fan and adjustable v toward and from the-sleeve shaft to regulate the flow of air from one casing to the other. 4. An airseparator comprising, 111 CO111 bination, outer and inner casings having openings between them at the ends of the inner casing, an uprightshaft within the nner casing and havingmeans for rotating the a same, a rotary distributor operatively secured to the shaft within the inner casing, a tube for delivering materials to be graded to the rotary distributor, a fanat the upper end of adjustable to vary the size of the air opening at the upper end of the inner casing.

5; An air separator comprising, in combinati0n, an outer casing, an inner easing having open ends and inwardly converging walls at its upper end portion, an upright shaft within the inner casing and having means for rotating the same, a rotary distributor operatively secured to 3 the shaft ,within the inner casing, means for delivering materials to be graded to the rotary distributor, a fan at the upper end of the inner casing and operated by said shaft to produce air currents rising in the inner casing and passing downwardly in the outer casing with a spirally whirling movement, angularly disposed vanes at the lower end of the inner casing in the communication between the casings and arranged'further to promote whirling movement of the air in the outer casing by causing the air to travel .said converging walls to vary the size of the air opening at the upper end of the inner casing. v I

6. An air separator comprising, in combination, outer and inner casings having openings between them; an upright shaft within the inner casing and having driving, means at. its upper end, a rotary distributor within said inner casing and driven by said shaft, a fixed feed tube surrounding said shaft and extending into the inner casing for delivering materials to the distributor, a sleeve shaft e-X- tending upwardly around the feed tube a substantial distance and secured to-the distributor for rotationtherewith, a fan secured to the upper end ofthe sleeve shaft and rotated thereby to produce air currents passing up in the inner casin and down in the .outer casing, and a floating sleeve slidably mounted within the space between the fixed feed tube and the sleeve shaft and having a wide lower face that rests on the materials upon the distributor to spreadthem out as they are rotated under the sleeve by the distributor.

'Z. An air separator comprising, in combination, outer and inner casings having open-' ings between them at the ends of the inner casing, means for producing air currentsv rising in the inner casing and passing downwardly in the outer casing, a shaft within the inner casing and having means for rotating the same, a rotary distributor-operatively secured to the shaft within the inher casin and having a plate upon which the materials to be distributed are delivered, a feed tube for delivering materials upon said plate, a floatingsleeve mounted to rest fioatingly upon said plate or the materials thereupon and having a wide lower face that rests upon the materials and spreads them out as theyare rotated under the sleeve face by the distributor, and counter-balancing means for lifting the sleeve bodily as the materials increase under thesame. In testimony whereof,I have signed m name to this specification.

THOMAS J. STUBTEVANT. 

